Tottenham: Mauricio Pochettino says Heung-min Son can be striker as Emmanuel Adebayor has no future

Mauricio Pochettino has claimed that Tottenham's versatile new signing Heung-min Son can play as a striker after reiterating his decision to keep Emmanuel Adebayor in exile. The Argentinian boss, meanwhile, claimed that Christian Eriksen and Clinton N'Jie remain on the sidelines for the trip to Sunderland on Sunday 13 September while Mousa Dembele is still in doubt.

Spurs will visit the Stadium of Light after securing just three points from the first four Premier League games of the campaign. With Harry Kane failing to find the net in the new campaign, Pochettino was expected to bolster his attack in the last days of the summer transfer window with Saido Berahino following Roberto Soldado's return to La Liga and the expected departure of Emmanuel Adebayor.

But Spurs failed to both lure the England striker out from West Bromwich and to get rid of the Togo international – leaving Pochettino with Kane and French youngster Clinton Njié, who joined from Lyon in the summer, as his only options up front. The boss is not concerned about the situation as he believes that South Korea international Son can also cover.

The new signing scored a hat trick for South Korea during the international break and speaking ahead of his potential debut against Sunderlad, Pochettino said as quoted by Mirror: "Son scored three goals in his game for the national team and arrived on Monday and trained very well all week. Maybe he is in the squad for Sunday."

"I think Son can play as a striker. When Son started to play in Germany for Hamburg, he played as a No 9, as a striker. After, when Leverkusen signed him, he started to play as No 7 and No 11 or can play No 10. But he is a striker that played wider at Leverkusen. I think we have enough players in offensive situations," he said.

"I am happy with the squad. When you assess the four games that we have played, we have created more chances and I think we deserved to have more points than we have in the table but we were unlucky and sometimes you need more luck."

The manager also insisted that Adebayor has no future at White Hart Lane after he already made it clear when leaving the striker out of the squads for both the Premier League and the European competition. "I was clear in all my times in front of you [the media]," he said.

"I was very clear with him. We had a conversation before the end of last season and I explained my idea. I was clear with him and I don't need to explain much more," he said. "I think it is clear he is not in my idea, in my mind or in the plans for the future of Tottenham. It was clear from the beginning three or four months ago and today it was his decision whether to stay or not.

"We are always available to help him. We have a good relationship. Every time we cross in the corridor it is not a problem because always I was clear with him and he was clear with me. The only problem now is to find a solution for him and a solution for the club, something that is good for both sides."

Pochettino, meanwhile, claimed that Eriksen and N'Jie are "close" to return to action but will miss the game against Sunderland. The Denmark playmaker already missed the two previous games before the international break while N'Jie is yet to make his debut following his arrival from Lyon. Meanwhile, Dembele may be ready to return to action after picking an injury in his ankle during the goalless draw against Everton.